This invention relates to an electrical connector adapted to interconnect a stripped conductor to a terminal by finger pressure in a manner precluding accidental disengagement of the conductor with the terminal; and particularly to an electrical connector containing multiple terminals adapted to interconnect the conductors of a flat, flexible multi-conductor cable. The invention contemplates uses including the interconnection of multiple conductors to the multiple conductor traces as on a printed circuit board or the like.
Increasing density in electronic assemblies has brought forth a widespread use of multiple conductor cables wherein conductors are arrayed on fixed centers in a common insulating package which is typically flat. Cables are now being utilized which include conductors which are solid and round or solid and flat, and in many instances, conductors made of twisted, stranded wires which are tin plated and fused together to have the effect of solid wire.
The structure of flat cables does not readily accommodate to many types of termination, the most widely used being the so-called insulation displacement contact (IDC) which, although widely used, has a number of specific limitations including that of limitation on range of conductor gauge, such range typically being limited to two gauges.
A number of prior inventions have addressed this overall problem, including those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,336, 4,526,436 and 4,734,053, all being drawn to connector assemblies for interconnecting flat flexible multi-conductor cable to terminals. The present invention, while directed to generally the same problem addressed by these inventions, differs in a number of respects which will become apparent in the following description, including specifically a broader tolerance to both type of wire, round or flat, and diameter of wire or gauge range of wire accommodated as well as an improved wire retention and ease of utilization.